title: A synthetic peptide encompassing the G5 antigenic region of the rabies virus induces high avidity but poorly neutralizing antibody in immunized animals.
abstract: The immunization of goats with a synthetic peptide encompassing the G5 antigenic site of the rabies virus surface glycoprotein induces a strong humoral immune response in the absence of a carrier protein. The immunized animals mounted high antibody titers and showed a strong avidity maturation of the B cell immune response to both the G5-peptide and purified surface glycoprotein G. This antibody weakly neutralized rabies virus carrying the G5 epitope but failed to neutralize escape mutants carrying a single point mutation in this epitope. A putative T helper cell epitope, functional in the context of different caprine MHC haplotypes, was identified by structure analysis of the G5-peptide. This striking dichotomy between high titers and antibody of high avidity to the glycoprotein G and poor neutralizing activity strongly suggests that antibody binding assays such as ELISA cannot always reliably predict the neutralizing activity of sera as measured in functional assays.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Virology, University of Bern, Laenggass-Str. 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niederhäuser
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bruegger
authors.forename: Marie-Luise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Zahno
authors.forename: Hans-Rudolf
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Vogt
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peterhans
authors.forename: Reto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bertoni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D000915:Antibody Affinity / Q000276:immunology*; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D006224:Cricetinae; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II / Q000276:immunology; D006041:Goats; D007114:Immunization / Q000662:veterinary*; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007700:Kinetics; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011818:Rabies / Q000276:immunology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011819:Rabies Vaccines; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic